Law of Unintended Consequences

Murphy’s Law says that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Then, there is the law of unintended consequences [1][2], where things can turn out beyond (or opposite of) your wildest expectations. Extending that a little bit further gives you the proverb “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Take how the Alliance “created” the Reavers, for example.

:P

One of the more interesting bit of news articles, or rather press releases, I read this week was one of unintended consequence. In February, US President George W Bush signed off a $150 billion Economic Stimulus Plan, which includes direct payments of up to $1,200 to more than 130 million US households. The idea is straightforward: give people money and they will spend, and thereby create jobs. One of the huge beneficiaries of the plan, it turns out, is the porn industry.

Adult industry market research firm AIMRCo reports that Internet porn sites are recording 20-30% increase in subscription since the plan came into effect in May. Apparently, summer is typically a slow period for porn.

This may not entirely qualify as an unintended consequence as the plan merely aims for higher consumer spending, and spending on porn is still spending. It may, however, suggest that the amount of the government cash handout is more than necessary; at least for some. Spending on porn is definitely not a necessity. But hey, isn’t it at least a little funny to think that the US government promotes porn?

And now with the lower US June employment data, Barack Obama is calling for another $50 billion handout.